This invention relates generally to the field of manufacture of precious metal jewelry, and more particularly to the manufacture of articles of generally planar or curved articles such as bracelets and the like. Traditionally, most jewelry articles of this type have been formed by casting, using the so-called lost wax method. Such casting can be formed to include hollow portions in order to use less precious metal materials. However, such castings require a minimum thickness to assure sufficient mechanical strength, and as a result, material costs are relatively high. It is, of course, known in the art to form such articles from base metals and apply a covering ranging from a simple gold wash to a plating of substantial thickness. Such articles cannot be advertised or sold as gold jewelry, and, where the covering is relatively thin, the useful life of such articles is quite limited.
The shaping of various articles using corresponding punch and die sets and planar stock is a common expedient, but has been used in the jewelry art only to a very limited degree. The principal reason for such limited use lies in the fact that most precious metals are relatively soft and in thin section they are readily damaged.